Shingo Yanagida came to Mount Allison from one of the largest high schools in Japan.

Shingo Yanagida (‘13) came to Mount Allison from one of the largest high schools in Japan — an hour away from his home city of Kumagaya. He chose Canada's East Coast and Mount Allison to improve his language skills. He now speaks English and Spanish, as well as Japanese.

Since he had studied English diligently before arriving in Canada, the language barrier wasn't a challenge. He says the hardest part of the transition, besides academics, was the Canadian sense of humour.

“There is no sarcasm in Japan,” he says. “It took time and speaking English to my friends to get used to it. You can’t learn English without encountering sarcasm.”

Yanagida, an international relations and Spanish graduate, was involved in many activities across campus, including the international student mentorship program, the Tsunami Campaign for Japan, and he was also an intern at the Athletics Centre through the Graduation Preparation Series (GPS).

In his fourth year, he was awarded for his efforts when he was named the Class of ‘33 Award winner, which recognizes an international student’s leadership, extracurricular involvement, and commitment to promoting cross-cultural awareness and understanding.

He also created his own study abroad program, which saw him travel to Costa Rica and Chile for fourth months, where he studied Spanish, literature, economics, and political science.

In 2014, he will begin a job with Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking and securities firm, in Singapore.